Ozzy Osbourne, the self-styled Prince of Darkness who helped define heavy-metal music as the singer of Black Sabbath, has died at age 76.
Less than three weeks ago, Osbourne performed seated in a black throne at a farewell concert before 40,000 fans in England. He suffered from Parkinson’s disease, which he disclosed publicly in 2020. His death was reported Tuesday by the Associated Press, which cited a statement from the family.
Osbourne performed with Black Sabbath from 1968, when the band was formed, until 1979, when he was fired. He went on to a solo career and sold more than 100 million albums, according to Billboard. He also starred in his own reality-television show, The Osbournes, based on his family.
Drug-and-alcohol-fueled behavior marred his career. He bit the head of a bat thrown on stage in Des Moines, Iowa, in January 1982. He was arrested for urinating on a statue across from the Alamo in San Antonio a month later.
“I never thought I’d last this long,” Osbourne said in an interview with Soundcheck magazine in 1986. “I’ve been pretty nearly dead a few times thanks to all the booze and stuff. Cocaine, cannabis, LSD. I’m trying to clean up and it’s not cool. I’ve had a lot of fun though and I hope I’ve made a few good records.”
One of his songs, Suicide Solution, led to a lawsuit by the parents of a depressed teenager who shot himself while listening to the record. Osbourne defended himself in court and maintained the track was a plea against alcohol abuse.
“That’s not how I meant it,” he said. “I meant that alcohol can kill you, don’t do it.”
John Michael Osbourne was born on Dec. 3, 1948, in Birmingham, England. He was hampered by undiagnosed dyslexia in school, and later failed at factory jobs and an incipient career as a burglar before realizing his rock-star dream with Black Sabbath, which started in his hometown.
The heavy-metal group’s rise to stardom on the back of such hits as Paranoid and Iron Man propelled him into drug and alcohol abuse that led to infidelity, neglectful parenting, abusive episodes with two wives and near-death experiences over four decades.
“Drugs nearly killed me,” Osbourne told Bloomberg News in 2010. “I didn’t like the way I felt because of the stigma that I had, so when I drank I thought that was the way I wanted to feel. I wanted to be carefree.”
After the firing from Black Sabbath, Osbourne’s career was resurrected with the help of his manager, Sharon Arden. She became his wife in 1982, and together they created a heavy-metal concert tour called Ozzfest in the 1990s.
Osbourne also took part in several Black Sabbath reunions, beginning in 1997. The last one started in 2012, when the band recorded its final studio album, 13, and lasted until a tour ended in 2014.
Along the way, he became a reality-TV star. The Osbournes series was broadcast on the MTV cable channel from 2002 to 2005 and featured Ozzy, Sharon and two of their three children, Jack and Kelly. Their oldest child, Aimee, declined to participate.
Osbourne discussed the Des Moines bat incident in his 2009 autobiography, I Am Ozzy, written with Chris Ayres. He thought a fan had thrown a toy bat on stage. He bit down on it, as he always did with rubber toys sent his way. The animal’s blood left “the worst aftertaste you could ever imagine,” Osbourne wrote. “Then the head in my mouth twitched.”
The incident was followed by rabies shots, picketing by animal rights groups and a surge in media attention. Even more publicity came from the Alamo incident, in which he was arrested while wearing one of Sharon’s evening gowns.
Osbourne married his first wife, Thelma, in 1971. The couple had two children, Jessica and Louis, before divorcing in 1982.
